By Julia DeBlasio

On day four at the orphanage we awoke feeling as if it could have been
day forty-five; this feeling did not come because we were drained, but
because of how at home and normal it felt waking up here. As the day
progressed we carried out our new found routines with the little ones,
and eventually the middle school children started to slowly arrive
home a few at a time.

Though most days after school the kids usually
run to us eager for more study time, be it math or English, today was
a bit different. Today there was an excitement in the air among them.
Today we were going to the beach! Four of us gypsies rounded up twelve
children and explained we would be doing a beach clean-up. We, of
course, promised candy for their efforts and for good behavior (we
also really wanted to eat candy, too). The walk to the beach was a bit
nerve-wracking to say the least due to narrow roads, big trucks,
motorcycles zooming by, and the twelve excited kids! We survived our
walk and our brothers and sisters did a great job picking up the
random bits of trash that washed up on shore.

It was great to see them
bury their legs in the sand and just be the sweet little humans that
they are.

After a solid clean up and play time we headed back toward
the orphanage. We got caught in quite the downpour of rain which may
have made it a bit more hectic for us, but the kids loved it.

At one point we saw one of our brothers with a knife in his hand which
instantly was startling to see; just as we were telling him to hand it
over he smirked and started cutting these enormous leaves for his
brothers and sisters to take shelter under from the rain. In an
instant we went from being worried to being in awe of how adorable it
was.

The pure sound of their laughter carried through the remainder of
the walk home. When we arrived back Didi told us we would be going to
a special temple for meditation to celebrate the new moon. After being
given proper attire, we were on our way with Didi and two of our
brothers. The property that the temple resides on is owned by the same
man who donated the land for the orphanage. We arrived at the property
and were greeted by its vibrant green grass, Indonesian statues, and
beautiful staircases.

The temple itself was situated high up on a
hilltop surrounded by mountains which were crowned with thick clouds.
There were no walls around it, just an open space to view your
surroundings and give you perspective on what tiny beings we all
really are. It was incredible. The service included singing, chanting,
dancing, and walking around the property to throw flower petals at
different altars. Didi got up to speak towards the end of the service;
she spoke of the importance of meditation and of being happy. Didi
proclaimed “85% of what we want to happen throughout our day happens,
yet we choose to dwell on the 15% which does not go our way.” The
events of this day really made us appreciate getting to see different
parts of the spectrum of life and having the realization that while
people in some countries are rushing to get to work, gazing down at
screens, or maybe just sound asleep after a long day, there are people in other parts of the world who are taking the time to celebrate the
moon and there are children laughing in the rain.